Tag: volunteerism

JSA AGM honours volunteers

Karon Shear was one of the volunteers honoured at the Jewish Seniors Alliance AGM on Sept. 14. (photo by Alan Katowitz courtesy of Jewish Seniors Alliance)

The annual meeting of the Jewish Seniors Alliance was held on Sept. 14 at Congregation Beth Israel. The business meeting was followed by a dinner and awards ceremony.

The business portion of the evening was called to order by JSA president Ken Levitt. Prior to the presentation of committee reports, a number of organizations offered greetings. A d’var Torah was delivered by Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, who emphasized that, according to Jewish law, we are not to cast aside seniors as they are at the heart of the community. And both Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, and Gudrun Langolf, acting president of the B.C. Council of Senior Citizen Organizations (COSCO), also said a few words.

Following the approval of the agenda and the minutes of last year’s AGM, Larry Meyer delivered the treasurer’s report. He outlined the various funding sources of JSA – government, corporate and private grants, as well as the $18 annual fee from members/supporters. He also listed the programs this money supports, such as peer counseling, Senior Line magazine, the fall symposium, the spring forum and the Empowerment Series, as well as the website, jsalliance.org.

Pamela Ottem, chair of the Peer Support Program, outlined the various aspects of the service. Peer counselors are required to take 55 hours of training prior to being assigned a client. They are given ongoing support in their work by Grace Hann, who is also the trainer, and Charles Leibovitch, who is a social worker. It takes 15 hours of training to become a Friendly Visitor. These volunteers visit shut-ins and lonely seniors; another part of the program is friendly phone calls and service information and referral. The peer support program has 56 trained volunteers serving 70 seniors.

The JSA’s Ambassador Program, whose goal is to raise awareness of elder abuse, started with a one-year grant and has been incorporated into the other offerings. Hann, Leibovitch and some of the volunteers make presentations to other seniors groups about their activities.

Binny Goldman reported that JSA has 596 members/supporters, of whom 320 are individual members, 150 are members of the Most Russian Bridge group and 21 are from affiliate organizations.

photo - Debbie Rozenberg, left, and Sylvia Yasin
Debbie Rozenberg, left, and Sylvia Yasin. (photo by Alan Katowitz courtesy of JSA)

In Levitt’s president’s report, he briefly reviewed the activities of the JSA, emphasizing that the organization would not exist if it were not for the active involvement of its volunteers. He pointed out that the peer support program alone, if it were carried out by paid staff, would cost much more than JSA’s total budget. He thanked everyone, both staff and volunteers, who have worked so hard and contributed so much over the past year.

Marilyn Berger presented the report of the nominations committee. She read out the slate for the coming year and moved for acceptance. Two former board members were mentioned, Edith Shier, who has passed away and was the previous editor of Senior Line, and Milton Adelman, who has retired from the board but was for many years the treasurer of JSA. Levitt then called for the adjournment of the business part of the evening and everyone was invited to move to the tables for dinner, volunteer recognition and musical entertainment.

Jazz singer Jill Samycia entertained the approximately 150 dinner guests, after which came the awards presentations to volunteers. As has become JSA’s custom, several organizations were asked to nominate senior volunteers who have spent time and energy enhancing the goals of their organizations.

Karon Shear, who was coordinator and administrator of JSA from 2005-16, was nominated by JSA. Her service to seniors, and enthusiastic marketing, played a vital role in the development and growth of the organization. In presenting her with the award, Serge Haber described her as the heart and soul of JSA. He spoke of the countless hours she spent, off the clock, on weekends, working at home; how she produced the Senior Line magazine basically on her own for a time.

photo - Nassa and Arnold Selwyn
Nassa and Arnold Selwyn. (photo by Alan Katowitz courtesy of JSA)

Sylvia Yasin was nominated by the Jewish Family Service Agency. Yasin has volunteered for many years with the Jewish Food Bank and was instrumental in creating relationships with various groups and individuals and obtaining ongoing donations of supplies for school-aged children. She was presented with her award by Debbie Rozenberg, who noted that Yasin began volunteering while still working full time. Yasin has been involved with the Terry Fox Run and with ORT. Among other things, she organized the gift wrapping in shopping malls that raised funds for ORT. She also helps set up and clear for the seniors lunches at the Kehila Society and is still involved with the Jewish Food Bank.

Nassa and Arnold Selwyn were nominated as a couple for their longtime volunteerism at Congregation Beth Israel. Infeld talked about Arnold’s singing for the congregation and Nassa’s beautiful sewing of the parochet (ark curtain) and the siddur covers. Together they bring holiness into the world, said the rabbi. Both of them act as greeters and have been part of many other committees. They are also active in the general community and are part of Showtime, an entertainment group of seniors.

All of the honourees expressed their thanks and appreciation to JSA and the nominating organizations. The message to all was, volunteer whenever you can and wherever you can – it will bring you feelings of fulfilment and joy.

Samycia performed again, during dessert, and a number of the guests got up and danced to the music. The evening ended with a draw for door prizes.

Barbara Bronstein and Larry Shapiro were co-chairs of the event.

Tamara Frankel is a member of the board of Jewish Seniors Alliance. Shanie Levin, MSW, worked for many years in the field of child welfare. During that time, she was active in the union. As well, she participated in amateur dramatics. She has served on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and is presently on the executive of JSA and a member of the editorial committee.

Queen Esther in Vancouver

Goldie Kassen at Louis Brier Home and Hospital’s Purim party last year. (photo from Barbara Taranto)

There are not many news stories in print or online that laud the everyday work of women. Occasionally, studies are published regarding the status of women’s salaries relative to men’s, the position of women’s roles relative to men’s, the division of labour in the household, etc., but very little is published about the everyday life and sacrifices of women. When stories are published, they are most often about how women have contributed, as a female actor in a traditional male role, to the social and economic welfare of the greater community.

I do not have many “heroes.” I never quite got the appeal of adoring a public figure or wanting to model myself after a stranger regardless of his or her qualities. One person I do admire, however, is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg – obviously for her remarkable contribution to the U.S. Supreme Court, her leadership and her example to American women – but more for the non-public and under-appreciated value she has added as a mother and a grandmother.

Bader Ginsberg is very much like Queen Esther of Purim – a woman with a private life who serves the greater good in the public sphere. There were not, and are not, many opportunities to have a life like hers. But, ordinary women, women not in the spotlight, have been serving the greater good throughout human history – volunteering in the community, giving time, food, sustenance and support to help their communities not only survive, but thrive.

When I grew up, I often came home from school and stopped at the Jewish community centre to see my mother – Goldie Kassen – who was working in the kitchen with the other women of Hadassah, an organization’s whose name is Queen Esther’s Hebrew name. The women of Hadassah were very active in Saskatoon. There wasn’t a week that went by that they weren’t involved in some sort of social action or charity event. And, on the days they were not busy with Hadassah, they were involved in the sisterhood at Congregation Agudas Israel, performing vital ritual tasks for the mikvah, the chevra kadisha or distributing mishloach manot (loosely translated as gift baskets) on Purim.

This culture of volunteerism that was widespread and common in my youth seems to have disappeared. Many smaller Jewish communities do not have the congregation or the means to support these activities and many services have been taken over by professionals. Frankly, many women understandably do not want to volunteer for no pay.

When my father, z”l, died, my mother left Saskatoon and moved to Vancouver. She immediately volunteered for a seniors group, Hadassah and the sisterhood at Temple Sholom. She became an active member of her new community by giving first and receiving warmth and welcome in return.

For the past 28 years, my mother has volunteered at the Louis Brier Home and Hospital. She started out as a salesperson, one day a week, in the gift shop. Over the years, she took on more and more responsibility. Today, she manages the staff and the staff schedule. She does the buying for the shop, she does the books for the shop and she does special requests for those who have no family or aid. She works four days a week, every week.

The proceeds from the shop have been used to purchase diagnostic medical equipment, hospital beds, a barbeque for the residents and much, much more. She greets all the customers in a quiet and gentle way, and I know she is loved for her patience and her concern.

On the Louis Brier’s website, there is a very brief paragraph about the shop. No mention is made of the women who work there, not that they expect it, but it would be nice. I know that the shop is an integral part of the life of the residents and the staff at the home. I know that there are not many women left like my mother.

So, when my mom called and told me she was going to the Purim party last year as Queen Esther, I was especially proud. She was worrying over what dress to wear. In the end, she chose the evening gown my father bought her in Jerusalem in 1962. It was a beautiful dress then and it is a beautiful dress now. More importantly, the woman wearing the dress is beautiful – as beautiful as Queen Esther and as important as all those women who have kept the traditions alive and without whom we would be impoverished.

Barbara Taranto lives in Tel Aviv. A version of this article was published last year on her blog, btarantoaretz.com.

Interfaith volunteering

Among her volunteer work, Heather Fenyes started Think Good, Do Good with her cousin. (photo from Heather Fenyes)

Heather Fenyes is a full-time volunteer. She is actively involved in Saskatoon’s Jewish community, as well as with a number of organizations on the national Jewish scene. In 2011, she and her then nearly retired cousin, Jan Gitlin, started the organization Think Good, Do Good to create opportunities for people to engage in acts to improve their community.

A teacher by education, Fenyes has spent many years volunteering at the local Hebrew school, at Agudas Israel Synagogue. “We’re a pretty small community and we punch way above our weight class,” she told the Independent.

“Even when I do things with respect to the Jewish community, while Think Good, Do Good is absolutely non-political, there is spill-over in both directions,” she continued. “Because things I care about aren’t compartmentalized, so the kinds of philosophies we work with, with respect to coexistence, apply to what I want for Israel and what I want in Think Good, Do Good, and in my own community.”

As Fenyes’ kids were growing older, she recognized they were probably going to leave Saskatoon once they finished high school. Unless she created something more tangible to keep herself busy, it would be a difficult time.

“My Judaism tells me that we’re not bound by thoughts, but compelled toward to action,” she said. “We have to do good things. I’ve always wanted to work with that philosophy. I’ve always been a passionate believer in social justice and collective responsibility and, frankly, good deeds.”

Fenyes decided a good place to begin was to pay a visit to Judge David Arnot, head of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, explaining to him that she wanted to find a way to work with him as a volunteer.

That initial meeting has resulted in some annual activities that incorporate Muslim-Jewish outreach, Holocaust education and school events that often revolve around Raoul Wallenberg and the concept of “the power of one.”

“We have an annual Holocaust memorial event in which we reach out to 2,000 students over a period of time,” said Fenyes. “I’m married to a refugee whose family escaped Budapest in 1956 during the revolution, after having survived the Holocaust.”

Fenyes has been spending a lot of time in classrooms, leading various lessons on citizenship, reminding students that, with all of our rights come just as many, if not more, responsibilities.

“I do a lot of conversations in classrooms about the things we take for granted and the things we are responsible for,” she said. “Part of this is just for the lesson itself, and a part of it is with the hope that teachers get this new curriculum, for K to 12 classes, in the very near future.”

For the past three years, on March 21, which is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Gitlin and Fenyes have chosen 250 elementary students who they work with on citizenship and take them to the university campus – with their Think Good, Do Good buttons on – to speak with students in the halls. “They approach university students and ask if they have done something good today,” said Fenyes. “I learn infinitely more from these K to 12 students than I teach them.”

While teaching one of the classes, Fenyes met a young student who said he was from Gaza. Fenyes suggested they talk about hummus. “I have a lot of friends from the Middle East and we have an ongoing discussion about who makes the best hummus,” she said.

“This young man was enthralled and we had this adorable, non-substantial discussion about hummus … and the teacher was standing looking anxious in the corner…. She said to me about a week later, ‘You cannot believe what happened Heather. Not long before you’d been in the classroom, this young man had been telling me about his family’s discomfort with Jewish people and his strong negative feelings towards Israel. When you left the classroom, he had a change.’ She said if she hadn’t seen it herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.

“He approached the teacher and shared how moved he was by having met me and asked to write a paper … and, it was on coexistence or getting to know our neighbors … something completely opposite to the things he’d been saying before.

“You know how we say, ‘To save one life’? I’m not saying that at all, but, if I changed one young man’s way of thinking, that’s a world.”

Fenyes is very aware of the immigration statistics in Saskatchewan and the challenges they pose. “If we don’t create some infrastructure and have conversations like you and I are having right now, and set up educational opportunities, we are going to be another failed example,” she said. “It’s not just that we need to do it because it’s the right thing to do. We need to do it because, otherwise, we’re going to live in a different kind of community.”

This understanding really hit home when Fenyes’ son received a death threat while studying at Western University. Fenyes did not need that wake up call, but it did remind her of why she was in classrooms and making connections with people of all faiths.

Fenyes said they have learned from experience that, if the Jewish community alone puts on events such as the annual Raoul Wallenberg program – which this year took place on Feb. 5 – they do not have the same impact. Therefore, they have given the Catholic and public schools the mandate to organize the event. This year’s program featured a young man who was born in Congo and lived in Kenya before immigrating to Saskatoon as a refugee; he just graduated from high school last year.

“In a city where we have two separate systems, the Catholic and the public school systems work together,” said Fenyes. “The superintendents from each have been meeting, which is a great image and reality, to plan this event. One year, it’s in a Catholic high school. The next year, it’s in a public one.”

On another front, Fenyes is looking forward to finding ways to work with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

“I think that what we are doing in Saskatoon as a city and community is really impressive,” she said. “I hope we can infect others with some great kind of ailment – Think Good, Do Good. My kids tease me that I live my life with rose-colored glasses. They might mean it as an insult, but I take it as a compliment.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Community’s foundations

(photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

With the skyrocketing Vancouver real estate prices the talk of Canadian news media almost daily, less attention has been given to the fate of the many homes whose high property price-tags all but encourage demolition and rebuilds.

One Facebook group has been seeking to draw attention to the disappearing streetscape of Vancouver. With 10,000 followers, Vancouver Vanishes bills itself as “a lament for, and celebration of, the vanishing character homes in Vancouver.” Some houses – like one on West 15th, originally owned by an assistant salesman for the Canadian Pacific Railway – have already met their fate. Others are slated for demolition, with photos posted in the hopes that followers will register their protest with Vancouver City Council.

My late grandfather’s home – on Fremlin Street near West 54th Avenue – was recently torn down to make way for a generous new build. Purchased with my grandmother and their three daughters in the late 1950s, my grandfather lived in his mid-century vernacular bungalow for nearly six decades, until he died three years ago at age 97.

While it was spacious and modern by 1950s standards, my grandfather’s house probably wouldn’t have made it to the pages of Vancouver Vanishes. It was a standard bungalow with four modest bedrooms, generous entertaining spaces, a kitchen large enough to accommodate Passover and everyday dishes, and a spacious rec room with a wet bar for teenage dance parties hosted by my mom and aunts. With more room to spread out, it would have felt excitingly large to the three daughters and, soon, another girl they fostered, compared to the small character home on Quesnel Drive from which they had moved. But theirs wasn’t among the most celebrated Vancouver “heritage home” variety – the Storybook homes, or the Tudor, Georgian or Mission Revival structures.

Still, the Jewish community may want to pause to consider a special type of vanishing as more and more of these homes disappear. That is, the kind of community-building that took place within the four walls of my grandparents’ home, and in the homes of many other community leaders and activists of their generation.

In my grandparents’ home on Fremlin, there was organizing and affiliation with Schara Tzedeck Synagogue, then under the leadership of Rabbi Bernard Goldenberg and Rabbi Marvin Hier. As well, with three growing daughters, there were the activities of many youth groups: NCSY, Young Judea and Habonim. There was the founding and nurturing of Camp Miriam, where my grandmother was the first “camp mother.” There was much work to be done for Pioneer Women, for the Histadrut (Israel’s trade union association) and in the preparation of a weekly radio show my grandparents hosted on Jewish and Israeli themes. In between the many hours devoted to volunteer work, there were their small businesses to run – Clifford’s Jewellers in Kitsilano, and their real estate ventures.

Plus, there were Sunday waffle brunches for the large extended Margolis family – whose members had found their way to Vancouver starting in the 1940s after arriving in Winnipeg from Kiev two decades earlier – and visitors from Russia and Israel.

With their three daughters spread across Vancouver Talmud Torah, Kitsilano, Churchill and Eric Hamber secondary schools, there was a home library to nurture, classical music records to collect, family photos to display and a garden to tend: irises, tiger lilies, azaleas, rhododendrons, peonies and hydrangeas, and fruit trees – apple, pear and cherry.

By the time I was around, spending one memorable summer in the orange bedroom in the late 1970s, there were memories for me to make – like suffering my first wasp sting on the back patio – and hobbies for me to discover: there was a teach-yourself-to-type book and a learn-to-speak Spanish book to read, all while I took up tennis in the shadow of my grandmother’s formidable court skills. By Grade 8, having moved to Vancouver with my parents from Winnipeg, there were weekly dinners prepared for me by my grandfather between my school day at Eric Hamber and my Judaic studies classes at Congregation Beth Israel and at the home of Rabbi Daniel Siegel.

What is lost when a mid-century Vancouver bungalow is demolished? Wood siding, stucco, a large picture window, a tiled porch and a garden lovingly tended. But for communities, there is so much more: memories forged of childrearing, philanthropy and leadership. Luckily for Vancouver’s Jewish community, while the building materials of these homes may be gone, the scaffolding of a vibrant community – generations later – remains.

Mira Sucharov is an associate professor of political science at Carleton University. She is a columnist for Canadian Jewish News and contributes to Haaretz and the Jewish Daily Forward, among other publications.